Infant&#39;s display shoe and method of preparing same



Nov. 17, 1970 Y D. E. JOHNSON 3,540,973

INFANTS DISPLAY SHOE AND METHOD OF PREPARING SAME Filed Feb. .19, 1968 DANIEL E. JOHNSON INVENTOR BY BUCKHORN, BLORE, KLARQUIST & SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS ite States US. Cl. 161-19 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of preparing for display an infants shoe including removing the shoe lace from the shoe, cleaning, electroplating and polishing the shoe, including the tongue portion thereof with the shoe lace removed, then cutting a shoe lace to be reinserted in the shoe into segments corresponding in length to the distances between laterally adjacent pairs of eyelets, then cleaning, electroplating and polishing the shoe lace segments apart from the shoe, and finally inserting each plated and polished lace segment through a corresponding pair of eyelets and through aligned holes in the tongue of the shoe and then bending the end portions of each segment back against the inside of the tongue to clamp the segments in place Each shoe lace segment includes a bendable wire core suitably coated with fabric or other material between the bent opposite end portions of each segment so that when the segments are inserted in the plated shoe they give the appearance of a laced shoe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to the electroplating of shoes and particularly the shoes of infants for display purposes.

Description of the prior art Baby shoes have been electroplated with copper in accordance with prior art methods by preparing, electroplating and finally polishing the shoe with the original shoe laces remaining laced through the eyelets of the shoe at all times. Such a process results in the main body of the electroplated shoe being bright and polished, in contrast to the tongue area which remains dull, dark and dingy looking because of the difficulty in thoroughly cleaning and preparing this area for electroplating and the impossibility of polishing the tongue area after electroplating. Moreover, the tongues of shoes electroplated in accordance with the prior method have turned progressively darker with age, thereby detracting further from the otherwise polished body of the shoe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem of the prior art method of electroplating shoes has been overcome in the present invention by providing a method which involves the cleaning, electroplating and polishing of the shoe, including the tongue, with the shoe lace removed from the shoe. The tongue area thus is cleaned, electroplated and polished to the same extent and at the same time as the remainder of the shoe, giving the entire shoe a uniform appearance and brightness. The shoe lace material to be reinserted in the 3,54,973 Patented Nov. 17, 1970 shoe, after the latter has been electroplated and polished, includes a fabric, plastic or rubber coated bendable wire core which is cut into segments, the lengths of which exceed slightly the distance between laterally opposed pairs of eyelets. The wire core of the segments is exposed at the opposite end portions of each segment and bent transversely of the intermediate coated portion of the segment. The segment for the top pair of eyelets of the shoe is tied into a bow to simulate a tied shoe lace. Each segment is then cleaned, prepared, electroplated and polished apart from the shoe. Then the bent ends of each segment are inserted through a corresponding pair of eyelets and through holes punched through the tongue in alignment with the eyelets, and the ends are finally bent back against the inside of the tongue to clamp each segment in place. The result is a uniformly polished metalcoated shoe which appears to be fully laced and tied, with the laces being metal-coated and polished to the sam extent as the remainder of the shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a metal coated shoe in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the lace segments of the shoe prior to their final insertion into the shoe following electroplating; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an apparatus for electroplating the lace segments with portions broken away for clarity of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION (a) Article With reference to the drawing, FIG. 1 discloses an infants shoe 10 including a sole portion 12 and an upper portion 14 having a tongue 16. The tongue extends beneath overlapping portions 17, 18 of the shoe which contain laterally opposed pairs of eyelets 20, 21. Simulated shoe lace segments 24, 25, 26, 27, including an upper segment 28 formed into a bow, extend between laterally opposed pairs of eyelets. Each segment has protruding wire end portions 30, 31 which extend inwardly through the eyelets and through holes 32, 33 punched through tongue 16 in alignment with the eyelet. End portions and 31 are bent back against the inside surface of the tongue to clamp the segment in place in the manner shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, each segment includes a bendable electrically conductive wire core 35 and a fabric, rubber or plastic coating 36 intermediate the opposite ends of the core and extending through a length which corresponds to the distance between the pair of eyelets into which the segment is to be inserted. Core 35 extends outwardly beyond the opposite ends of the coating layer 36 to form end portions 30 and 31. Each segment is individually cut and bent to fit a particular pair of eyelets through which the segment is to be inserted, and for this purpose each segment obviously must have a total length which exceeds slightly the distance between its corresponding pair of eyelets, so that the end portions 30, 31 can be inserted through the eyelets and tongue, and bent back against the inside of the shoe to clamp the segments in place. It has been found that a rubber coated copper bell wire serves admirably as simulated shoe lace material for forming the segments, with the end portions being formed by peeling away the required lengths of the rubber insulating layer. Alternatively, the segments may be formed from the original fabric shoe lace material by cutting the original shoe lace into segments corresponding to the distance between eyelets and then threading a copper wire through the fabric so that the opposite ends of the wire protrude from the opposite ends of the fabric lace. No doubt other materials could also be found that would serve the purpose of simulated shoe lace segments in the finished product.

The entire outer surface of the shoe including the tongue and at least the visible portions of the lace segments are electroplated with copper, which is then subsequently polished, resulting in a decorative infants shoe which is suitable for display purposes.

(b) Method The decorative shoe described above is prepared in the following manner. First, the shoe to be displayed is selected and the original shoe lace removed from its eyelets. Then the shoe with the lace removed is cleaned, prepared, electroplated and polished. Since the lace is removed from the shoe, the tongue can be plated and polished to the same degree of brilliance as the remainder of the shoe.

The procedures for electroplating the shoe are, in general, the same as used heretofore, but with certain important differences in details. Specifically, with the laces removed, the shoe is cleaned with mild soap suds, pref erably using a soft cloth or sponge and a small bristle brush. The shoe should not be soaked, but merely scrubbed on its outer surface. The brush is used to clean thoroughly the numerous cracks, wrinkles and seams usually found in a well-worn infants shoe. The scrubbed shoe is dried thoroughly, usually for twenty-four hours, and then swabbed with alcohol or carbon tetrachloride. The shoe is then thoroughly dried again, preferably for another twenty-four hour period. If thereafter any residue or dirt remains in the seams, sole or other outer areas of the shoe, it should be swabbed again with alcohol or carbon tetrachloride and again dried thoroughly. Thorough cleaning is particularly important to obtain a uniform, continuous coating of electroplated metal throughout the entire outer shoe surface.

After the shoe has been cleaned and dried, a hardening and waterproofing compound is applied to the shoe material. The compound also renders the material acid resistant and serves as a base for the electrically conductive coating to be subsequently applied. Compounds for this purpose usually have a plastic base and can be readily purchased. They are thinned with a lacquer thinner, and the shoe is dipped into the resulting bath. I prefer to use a compound sold as Warner Formula No. 626, which is mixed with thinner in a ratio of one and one-half parts of thinner to one part of the purchased compound. The shoe is immersed in the bath for approximately five minutes before, it is removed and placed upside down to drain thoroughly. After the shoe has drained, wax paper is stuffed into the shoe to obtain the desired final shape in which the shoe will be displayed. When the shoe is shaped as desired, its tongue is cemented to the overlapping portions 16, 17 of the shoe uppers and held in place with clothespins or other clamping means in a dry, dust free location until the cement has dried.

After the tongue is cemented in place, holes 32, 33 are punched through the tongue in alignment with the eyelets. The shoe is then dipped once again into the hardening bath for a few seconds and then dried for another extensive period of 24 hours or longer.

A hole is also punched in the heel area of the shoe and a copper wire threaded through the hole, leaving a large loop at least an inch and one-half from the shoe and a tail three or four inches long which can be used for handling the shoe until it is taken from the electroplating bath. The shoe is then sprayed with a bronze powder, such as Warner Spraybronze brand powder, and then allowed to hang in a dust free place until thoroughly dry. When this has been done the shoe is ready for the electroplating bath.

When the shoe is to be plated with copper, the electroplating bath, or electrolyte, consists of a so-called copper acid bath which is formed by mixing a copper compound in concentrated form with sulphuric acid in distilled water, one pound of concentrate to four ounces of sulphuric acid in one gallon of distilled water. Each shoe to be plated is then suspended from a cathode bar and immersed in the resulting copper sulphate electrolyte within a plating tank. A lead or other suitable weight is placed in the toe of the shoe to keep the shoe immersed. Anode plates, preferably of pure copper, are suspended from anode bars on both sides of the shoe, and then an electrical direct current is transmitted from a source of direct current, through the anode bars, anode plates, electrolyte, shoe and cathode bar back to the source, resulting in the plating of the bronze powdered surfaces of the shoe with copper. For best results, each shoe being plated preferably remains immersed in the bath for approximately twenty ampere hours.

When the shoe is removed from the electrolyte, it is washed in flowing water and then placed in a solution of sodium carbonate and water for approximately thirty minutes to remove any residue from the plating bath, then dried thrououghly.

After drying, the shoes metal coating is polished to a high brilliance. This may be done with a motor driven polishing wheel and polishing compound that will produce a bright luster to the surface of the shoe. However, it has been found that the foregoing method of polishing is unnecessary. Instead, an ordinary wire brush such as that used by automobile mechanics is preferably used to rub the shoe. By using such a brush the shoe can be polished in a small fraction of the time required with the use of a polishing wheel. Most importantly, use of the brush avoids the danger of overheating the metal coating, which is a frequent cause of separation of the copper plating from the surface of the shoe when polishing wheels are used. It has also been found that polishing compounds used with bufling wheels darken the shoe plating, with the depth of color being proportional to the amount of compound used. When the plating is polished without compounds the metal coating has an attractive gold-like appearance.

Each shoe lace segment as shown in FIG. 3 is cleaned, coated, sprayed with bronze powder, electroplated with copper and polished individually and while apart from the shoe itself.

After the shoe lace segments have been cut and fitted to their respective eyelets as previously described, the wire ends 30, 31 are bent at approximately right angles to the intermediate coated portion of the segments. A bow is tied in the upper segment 28. Preferably the how has an overall length which is no greater than the overall width of the segment and at least no greater than the width of the shoe at the level of the upper lace segment. It is important that the lace be bent to at least about a right angle before it is electroplated, because it cannot easily be bent after electroplating without danger of removing metal from the segment. Each lace segment is then thoroughly cleaned and dried. The lace segments are dipped into the same hardening compound as described with respect to the shoes for a few seconds, then hung on a line to dry, then dipped again into the hardening solution and dried again. Thereafter, the segments are sprayed with bronze powder and dried.

A special apparatus is preferably used to electroplate the lace segments as shown in FIG. 4. The apparatus includes the usual electroplating tank 40 which contains the copper sulphate electrolyte. Two anode bars 42, 43 are laid across the top of the tank and connected by conductors 44, 45 to the positive post of a source of direct current such as the battery 46 shown. A cathode bar 48 is placed between the anode bars across the top of the tank and connected by a conductor 49 to the negative post of the source of direct current. Two anode plates 50, 51 of copper are suspended vertically, one from each anode bar, by clips 52, 53 so that the plates are immersed in the electrolyte.

A pair of vertical electrically conductive end Wires 55, 56 are suspended from the cathode bar near opposite sides of the tank. Uninsulated end portions of the vertical wires are wrapped around the cathode bar and clamped in place by clothes pins 57, 58 or other clamping means to obtain a good electrical contact. The lower ends of the end wires are anchored to the bottom of the tank with lead or other suitable weights 59, 60. A pair of horizontal hanger wires 62, 63 extend between the end wires in vertically spaced apart relationship and are fastened at their opposite ends to the vertical wires. Each hanger wire is formed of doubled and loosely twisted strands to form a series of small loops between the vertical end wires. The hanger wires are spaced apart just a sufficient distance so that the bent opposite ends of the lace egment 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 can be inserted through the loops of each wire so that the coated portions of the segments extend vertically between the hanger wires. The lace segments should be placed on the hanger Wires in positions such that the segments are well within the bounds of the anode plates 50 and 51. The lace segments may be sprayed with the bronze powder while thus suspended between the hanger wires and then the entire end and hanger wire assembly, including the lace segments, immersed in the electrolyte.

The length of time that the segments remain immersed in the electrolyte is determined by operator judgment and depends on the specific gravity of the cathode and the size of the areas to be plated. Care must be taken at all times to keep the lace segments as well as the shoe itself free from dust, dirt and grease prior to electroplating, for the copper cannot be electroplated on a soiled surface.

Rubber coated copper bell wire serves well for the vertical end wires 55, 56 and the twisted horizontal hanger wires 62, 63 as well as for the lace segments. In such case the rubber insulation is peeled from the copper core of the bell wire at the points where electrical contact between connected members is required, such as at the connection of the vertical end wires to the cathode bar, at the connections of the hanger wires to the end wires and at the wire loops into which the bent ends of the lace segments are inserted.

When removed from the plating bath, the lace segments are washed in running water and immersed in a solution of sodium carbonate and water for fifteen to twenty minutes. I prefer to use a sal soda solution consisting of one gallon of water to one-half pound of sal soda so as to thoroughly remove the electrolyte from the laces. When dried, each lace segment is polished, preferably with emery cloth. After the shoe itself, including the tongue, has been polished to the desired sheen, the bent end portions of the polished lace segments are inserted in their respective eyelet and tongue openings. The ends of the segments are then bent against the inside surfaces of the shoe to retain the segments securedly in place on the shoe.

The overall effect of the electroplated shoe resulting from the foregoing described process is far more pleasing than the effect of shoes electroplated in accordance with prior methods, primarily in that with the present method the entire shoe, including the laces and tongue portion, has a uniform color and polish, and the uniformity will prevail as the plated shoe ages. With the lace segments inserted in the shoe as described and with the upper lace segment including a how, the electroplated shoe has the appearance of being laced with a single continuous lace tied into a bow at the topmost eyelets.

Having described a preferred method and apparatus of my invention together with the resulting product, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same permits of modification in arrangement, detail and procedure. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

-1. A method of preparing a shoe for display, said shoe including a shoe lace, laterally opposed pairs of eyelets for receiving said lace and a tongue extending beneath said eyelets, said method comprising the steps:

removing said shoe lace from said shoe,

with said shoe lace removed, cleaning, electroplating and polishing said shoe, including said tongue,

cutting shoe lace material into segments corresponding in length to the distances between the eyelets of each pair of eyelets,

cleaning, electroplating and polishing said segments apart from said shoe,

then inserting each plated and polished lace segment through a corresponding pair of eyelets.

2. A method according to claim 1 including:

cutting each lace segment to a length which exceeds the distance between a corresponding pair of said eyelets, and bending the opposite end portions of each segment which extend laterally beyond the corresponding pair of eyelets transversely to the intermediate length of each segment prior to plating the same.

3. A method according to claim 2 including:

punching a hole through said tongue in alignment with each eyelet, inserting the bent end portions of each segment through their associated eyelets and tongue holes, and then bending said end portions against the inside of said tongue to clamp said segments in place.

4. A method according to claim 2 wherein:

said lace segments prior to plating include an electrically conductive wire core and an electrically insulated covering over said core along the length between said end portions.

5. A method according to claim 2 including:

cleaning each segment,

coating each segment with a hardening compound,

coating each hardened segment with a metal powder electrically attractive to the metal to be plated,

immersing each segment in an electrolyte by suspending the segment by said bent end portions between a pair of horizontally extending electrically conductive hanger wires within said electrolyte anchored to vertically extending electrically conductive anchor members connected to a source of direct electrical current.

6. A method according to claim '2 wherein the major portions of said anchor members and horizontal wires immersed in said electrolyte are covered with an insulating material except in the zones of contact between said anchor members and horizontal wires and the zones of contact between said segments and said wires.

7. A method according to claim 5 wherein each of said horizontal hanger wires comprises two strands of loosely twisted wire defining openings therebetween for receiving the hooked end portions of said segments.

8. A decorative product for display comprising:

a shoe including a series of laterally opposed pairs of eyelets and a tongue extending beneath said eyelets,

shoe lace segments extending between and through the eyelets of each said pair of eyelets,

at least the portions of said shoe lace segments extending between said eyelets being coated with a layer of metal,

and a layer of polished metal covering the exposed outer surface portions of said shoe including said tongue,

said layer of polished metal extending continuously throughout the exposed outer surface area of said tongue beneath said shoe lace segments,

said tongue including a series of holes therethrough in alignment With and beneath said eyelets,

said shoelace segments being discontinuous with respect to one another,

each said segment having a length greater than the distance between its associated pair of eyelets, each said segment including a bendable Wire core, said core at the opposite ends of each segment extending 10 PHILIP DIER, Primary Examiner through a pair of said eyelets and its aligned tongue openings and being bent against an inside surface of said tongue or other shoe portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS US. Cl. X.R. 

